String controlled toy vehicle

ABSTRACT

A toy vehicle whose steering is controlled by strings or other tension members that extend above the vehicle, together with a socket on an upper surface of the vehicle, said socket being adaptable for receiving a push stick with which to propel the vehicle.

United States Patent 1 Reyes 1 Oct. 2, 1973 1 1 STRING CONTROLLED TOY VEHICLE [75] Inventor: Luis E. Reyes, Chicago, Ill.

[73] Assignee: The Raymond Lee Organization,

Inc., New York, NY. ;a part interest [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 204,423

[52] US. Cl. 46/210 [51] Int. Cl A63h 30/00 [58] Field of Search 46/201, 202, 210,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,887,823 5/1959 Vaughan 46/210 X 2,260,679 10/1941 Neilson 46/210 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 432,196 3/1948 ltaly 46/210 Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-D. L. Weinhold Alt0rneyH0ward I. Podell [57] ABSTRACT A toy vehicle whose steering is controlled by strings or other tension members that extend above the vehicle, together with a socket on an upper surface of the vehicle, said socket being adaptable for receiving a push stick with which to propel the vehicle.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDUBI 2197a INVENTOR. [0/5 E. AEves STRING CONTROLLED TOY VEHICLE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to toy vehicles with means for the vehicle to be propelled and means to be steered by the operator from above the vehicle.

The toy vehicle of my invention has a steerable front axle, each side of which is linked to a string extending above the vehicle. An external surface of the vehicle has a socket which receives a removable push stick for use in propelling the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING:

The objects and features of the invention may be understood with reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention taken together with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the toy vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the underside of the vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toy vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

Turning now descriptively to the drawing, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate a toy vehicle mounted on rear wheels 14 and steerable front wheels 15. Front wheels 15 are mounted to axle 16 which rotates about pivot 23. String 20 is fastened to clevis 22 on the one side of axle l6 and string 21 is fastened to clevis 24 on the other side of axle 16. Both strings bend about stops 25 and through opening 27 in the bottom of the vehicle and up out of openings 28 in the sides of the vehicle.

Strings 20 and 2] may be joined above the vehicle 10 to form one continuous length.

Socket 12 is mounted above the cab of the vehicle where it is accessible from above to receive push stick 11.

In operation, vehicle 10 is propelled forward by push stick 1 l and steered by applying tension on string 20 or 21. The vehicle may be pulled and steered in reverse by use of the strings alone.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A toy wheeled vehicle externally steered from above the vehicle by a pair.of flexible string tension members, and externally propelled from above the vehicle by a push stick which fits loosely into a fixed socket mounted on an upper surface of the vehicle,

one end of one of said tension members being connected to one side of the front axle of the vehicle, and one end of the second tension member being connected to the other side of the front axle of the vehicle, with the middle of the said front axle pivotably mounted to the chassis of the vehicle,

both said tension members being led along the bottom of the vehicle body and through openings in said vehicle body to above the vehicle, such that the vehicle is controlled in forward motion and in direction of motion by the simultaneous application of tension and compression forces on the part of the user, with successful operation requiring the user to balance the tension forces applied to the tension members against the compression force applied to the push stick.

2. The combination as recited in claim 1 in which the two tension members are joined together so as to form a continuous flexible string, each end of which is joined to one of the opposing sides of the front axle.

3. The combination as recited in claim 1 in which the vehicle is in the form of a toy truck. 

1. A toy wheeled vehicle externally steered from above the vehicle by a pair of flexible string tension members, and externally propelled from above the vehicle by a push stick which fits loosely into a fixed socket mounted on an upper surface of the vehicle, ONE END OF ONE OF SAID TENSION MEMBERS BEING CONNECTED TO ONE SIDE OF THE FRONT AXLE OF THE VEHICLE, AND ONE END OF THE SECOND TENSION MEMBER BEING CONNECTED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FRONT AXLE OF THE VEHICLE, WITH THE MIDDLE OF THE SAID FRONT AXLE PIVOTABLY MOUNTED TO THE CHASSIS OF THE VEHICLE, BOTH SAID TENSION MEMBERS BEING LED ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE VEHICLE BODY AND THROUGH OPENINGS IN SAID VEHICLE BODY TO ABOVE THE VEHICLE, SUCH THAT THE VEHICLE IS CONTROLLED IN FORWARD MOTION AND IN DIRECTION OF MOTION BY THE SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION OF TENSION AND COMPRESSION FORCES ON THE PART OF THE USER, WITH SUCCESSFUL OPERATION REQUIRING THE USER TO BALANCE THE TENSION FORCES APPLIED TO THE TENSION MEMBERS AGAINST THE COMPRESSION FORCE APPLIED TO THE PUSH STICK.
 2. The combination as recited in claim 1 in which the two tension members are joined together so as to form a continuous flexible string, each end of which is joined to one of the opposing sides of tHe front axle.
 3. The combination as recited in claim 1 in which the vehicle is in the form of a toy truck. 